The grandfather and grandson duo concentrated on eating biscuits. The eight special forces soldiers were tired after the day’s events and felt hungry. They took out their dry food rations and sated their hunger. Only Song Haoran didn’t eat, and merely stared at the photos of Lixin inside his wallet; his deep, dark eyes full of thoughts.
"Major General, eat something and replenish your strength. Otherwise, you won’t have any strength to find Young Master Gong," A special forces soldier whispered as he patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah." Song Haoran lowered his head, closed his wallet, and put it back in his pocket. He took out a bag of compressed biscuits, and mechanically ate them.
Several subordinates who knew Song Haoran well glanced at each other and helplessly shook their heads as they looked at the Major General who seemed as if he lost his soul.
The boy put a biscuit in his mouth and swallowed it without chewing, almost choking in the process. His grandfather immediately stepped forward to pat him on the back and told him to slow down.
"Are you looking for the person in the photo?" The teenager hit his chest and gasped.
"Yes, we can’t go back without finding him. You’re here for two days. We’ll contact the higher-ups to pick you up. Right, are there other survivors besides you?" The Major General asked without answering the question.
"I’ve met them, but they all died. They were too reckless. There’s a danger zone ahead, I told them not to go, but they kept on insisting. They asked for it!" The boy’s tone was full of scorn as if he, who did nothing but wait in the bomb shelter, was much better than them.
Everyone was silent and no longer cared about him. The child spoke with cold-heartedness, selfishness, timidity, and weakness, which made them particularly unhappy. Song Haoran looked up and glanced at him, his eyes as sharp as a knife and just as cold. The child’s attitude reminded him of Gong Xiangyi, and his heart unconsciously hated him.
The teenager shrunk back after seeing Song Haoran’s glare and immediately shut up. After a few more minutes, he opened his mouth and asked, "Let me see the photo. My grandfather hasn’t seen him, but maybe I have."
Song Haoran sighed and finally handed over the photo. As long as there was a clue, he would not give up.
The teenager took the photo and looked at it under the light. Song Haoran squinted his eyes and observed his movements and expressions. After half a minute, the teenager looked up at Song Haoran. He said with regret. "I’ve seen this person on the day of the apocalypse. I happened to come here to give my grandfather his living allowance. However, he’s already dead. He was eaten by a group of zombies, just in the corner of the alley. At that time, he shouted for help, but there were too many zombies, I didn’t dare go. Sorry!"
The boy said with red eyes and shyly bowed his head. His grandfather was surprised and looked at his grandson. He quickly reached out and patted his back in comfort then looked at Song Haoran with eyes filled with pity.
Song Haoran stared at the grandfather and grandson duo without any expression. He did not say anything for a long time. The atmosphere in the shelter gradually became gloomy.
The young man bit his lip and wiped away the tears. He softly said, "Big brother, don’t be sad. We’re in the apocalypse. Maybe it happened then. Maybe it will happen the next moment. People will face death at any time, and you just have to accept it. He is dead. What do you want to do? Are you going to retreat? Can you bring my grandfather and me?"
Tagging along to safety was his real purpose. He did not want to wait for a moment longer inside this shelter. God knows whether the army would even pick them up after Song Haoran walked away. Instead of waiting in despair, it was better to cling to the people in front of them. [1]
"When you saw him, what kind of clothes was he wearing?" Song Haoran closed his eyes and asked very calmly, but a cocoon of darkness was brewing inside him.
The youngster’s eyes flashed for a moment, and he secretly tightened the grip on his clothes. He calmly answered: "He was seriously injured at the time. He was covered in blood and surrounded by a group of zombies. I didn’t see clearly."
"Oh~" At the end of the day, Song Haoran sneered. He suddenly grabbed the other by the collar of his clothes and pulled him up. The other hand quickly pulled out his gun from his waist and vigorously pointed at the other’s temple. Through gritted teeth, he said, "If you can look into my eyes, then repeat what you said! You are right. In the apocalypse, there will be people dying at any time. I guess it will be your time to die next?"
The teenager felt the pressure at his temple and the coldness of the barrel. The trepidation made his legs weak. He was so intimidated that he couldn’t speak for a while.
Everything had happened so suddenly that nobody had time to react. The boy had already fallen into Song Haoran’s hands who had lost his mind. The boy’s grandfather almost fainted while the other eight were dumbfounded.
It was a pity that Song Haoran’s wrath was considerable, and he was unwilling to let it go. The group of people did not dare approach him in fear of his firing the gun. Instead, they kept persuading him.
Song Haoran stared at the boy while he listened to what his subordinates were saying. It was evident that Gong Lixin was his sore spot; no one dared to poke the hornet’s nest.
Regardless of whether the other person was a minor, nobody had the right to be willful. Could a small sacrifice of others’ be made for the sake of another? For what reasons could these decisions be made? His Lixin was also living outside, suffering from hunger and fear [2]. If he were to believe the teenager’s, then who else would save him?! [3]
With such a mindset, Song Haoran’s expression became fierce and his fingertips on the trigger moved.
"What’s going on here?" At the entrance, a middle-aged man held a paper bag in one hand and a bloodstained knife in the other. He saw nine new people who suddenly appeared and was surprised to see them. Then, he saw the gun locked onto Zhao Ying’s head and immediately felt a burst of fear and asked with a stutter.
"Daihai, save Xiaoying!" The seventy-year-old man quickly shouted at the other man.
"Brother Daihai, save me!" The young voice trembled with fear and unshed tears.
"This brother, don’t do this, Xiaoying is still a child! Looking at that uniform you are wearing, aren’t you a soldier? Is this how the military does things? Pointing a gun at civilian heads?" The man quickly stepped forward and tried to pull Song Haoran’s hand away.
Song Haoran glanced at him, and the icy look made the other party’s heart shiver. Song Haoran gritted his teeth and looked back at Zhao Ying. He quietly said, "Repeat those words you said just now!"
"I, I don’t dare. I lied. I was lying! I have never seen him before. I just wanted you to bring me to safety quickly. I don’t want to stay here for a second longer. He’s not dead. He definitely isn’t dead!" The young boy incoherently said with a tearful voice.
Song Haoran tightened his grip on the handle of his gun; his sharp, knife-like eyes observing the young man before he finally loosened his hand on the teenager’s collar and threw him away. The old man quickly grabbed his grandson who rolled to the side towards a corner, far from Song Haoran. Although his grandson was the one to lie first, this person was still too much! How could he point a gun towards a child’s head?! [4]
The rest of the people swore, relief painted on their faces. Fortunately, the General saw reason and did not end that person’s life.
Although Song Haoran had a bad temper, he had always followed his military duties and had never done anything to a civilian without good reason. It was the first time they ever saw the General mad and ruthless.
Song Haoran held his gun and sat in a corner with a blank expression. Others were quiet and timid, not daring to make a sound since they were afraid of disturbing him. The shelter was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop. Even the air was stagnant, making people feel depressed. Right then, there was a crisp "beep" sound that echoed in the quiet room.
"Major General, your communicator seems to be ringing." A special forces soldier saw how Song Haoran didn’t respond and thus, carefully informed him.
"Hmm?" Song Haoran suddenly returned to Earth and quickly pulled out the communicator from his waist and pressed the call button.
"Hello, is this Big Brother Song?" A clear and distinct voice of a child could be heard from the phone. Song Haoran’s expression turned awkward his brows rising in surprise. He was so excited that he couldn’t utter a word!
"Big Brother Song, are you there?" After not getting a response, the teenager asked again with patience.
"Un! It’s Big Brother Song!" It took a lot of effort for Song Haoran to suppress the sobs and tremors in his voice. His eyes were slightly reddish and filled with tears.
Hearing the gentle and incomparable voice of the youth, he felt the ice in his body instantly melt and finally exuded some warmth. Everyone in the same room noticed this change, and they all sat straight and strained their ears, carefully trying to hear the voice coming from the phone.
"Big Brother Song, I miss you!" The voice of the young boy was soft, full of unrecognized love and was sent through the phone to his ear, scratching at Song Haoran’s eardrum.
Song Haoran’s heart that soared high slowly fell back to his chest and burst with warmth, spreading throughout his body. He couldn’t stop smiling, his expression becoming gentle.
"I miss you too!" Song Haoran chuckled quietly.
The atmosphere in the shelter positively shifted, the soldiers looking at each other with faces showing happy expressions. It was Gong Lixin! This call came not a second late. If it were any later, the Major General would have lost his mind.
"Big Brother Song, have you been injured? Where are you now?" Through the phone, Gong Lixin asked with concern.
"I’m very well, no injuries. How are you? Where are you now?" Song Haoran smiled, although there was a trace of anxiety in his eyes for fear of hearing bad news.
"I’m excellent. I’m with Big Brother Lin now. Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up!"
The young voice faded away, replaced by a deep male voice on the other end who seriously asked, "Haoran, report your position. We’re taking the helicopter to pick you up."
Song Haoran reported his location and at the end of it, warned Lin Wenbo. "It’s fine to send someone else to pick us up. Don’t let Lixin come over, it’s dangerous!"
The other side was silent for a while before Lin Wenbo’s voice floated once again. "I just looked at the map. There’s no suitable place for landing. It’s best to find an open and flat space. There’s an outdoor tennis hall next to Zhongling Building. Do you know where it is? Go there and wait for us!"
"I know that place!" He heard the words coming from the phone, and the man named Daihai couldn’t hold back his excitement. The grandfather and grandson duo also slowly crept out of their corner, looking expectantly at Song Haoran. He didn’t regret any of his actions at all. [5]
Song Haoran slightly glared at Daihai before turning back to the communicator and said, "I know it; we’ll be there."
"We’ll be there in an hour, be ready." Lin Wenbo cautiously said.
Song Haoran agreed and was about to hang up the phone when Gong Lixin’s crisp voice came up again. "Big Brother Song, don’t be afraid. I will come to pick you up soon so pay attention to your safety!"
At first, Song Haoran’s heart was moved, stunned and rendered him speechless for a while before he yelled into the phone that Gong Lixin was not allowed to come. Responding to him was a dull ’beep’ sound. He slammed his fist towards the ground.
"Major General, don’t be angry. Lixin is just affectionate and righteous! It’s not so dangerous to pick us up." One of his men quickly comforted. Upon hearing this, the young general’s expression softened, and then he firmly stated, "Let’s go to the tennis court in advance and clean it up. When the helicopter lands, we’ll be able to board it immediately and there will be no danger."
At Song Haoran’s words, the young boy agreed, "Go, go to the tennis court now!" He thought he would finally get out of this place and he couldn’t wait.
Dai Hai led the way, and Song Haoran protected him. The grandfather and grandson duo was sandwiched between the eight soldiers as they all crawled under the bottom of the cars, making their way to the tennis court.
[1] Wuxian: what a user-friendly kid......
[2] AutumnBreeze: cough cough Bullshit.
[3] AutumnBreeze: well.... there is still Lin Wenbo...
[4] AutumnBreeze: Don’t be a piece of shit in the first place... And Mr. Grandpa... have you forgotten the way your grandson was acting towards you earlier?
[5] CrazedCookies: Please, please, please leave that f***er of a grandson behind! Please!